


The sea witches

by Oanah22



Category: Hilda (Cartoon)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:02:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28232124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oanah22/pseuds/Oanah22
Summary: After hearing of stranges creatures coming at night from the ocean. Hilda investigates. Little does she know, she is about to save a life, make a new friend and help her go back where she belongs.
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

Prologue  
“And that’s when we heard that screeching noise! We were wondering where it was coming from, until we saw all those silhouettes coming from the sea! “  
“There are many reports from inhabitants of the port that indeed, for a few nights now, strange figures were seen near the water. Citizens are advised to stay alert and avoid the area during night time. Now back to you Jim. “  
“Thank you, Louisa! Now we have a very special guest this morning to talk about... “  
“That’s gloomy, isn’t it? “ Johanna said as she turned off the television.  
“Yeah, I really wonder what it is... “ Hilda muttered, her head in the clouds. Her mum noticed the look of curiosity in her daughter’s face. She frowned.  
“Hilda, come home as soon as your school day is over, okay? I don’t want you poking around the market. Better be safe than sorry, right? The blue haired girl smiled but did not answer. She grabbed her bag and hurried outside after saying goodbye to Twig, who was half-asleep on the couch.  
As soon as she got on her way to school, her mind started racing: what could those creatures be? They were definitely not trolls, because they wouldn’t stay in the water; they barely came near the wall lately. “I’m going to investigate “ she decided right before meeting with Frida and David in the school yard. Every kid was talking about these events.  
“What do you think they are? “ Frida asked as Hilda met with them.  
“Frankly, I don’t want to know “ David said with an uncontrollable shiver. “Strange creatures lurking around the port at night? I’m going to stay as far as possible from this place until they are gone. “  
“How about we head there right after class? “ Hilda offered. Both her friends nodded, although David seemed very reluctant to the idea. “It’s been a while since anything interesting happened. “  
“I wish I could’ve enjoyed it more while it lasted. “ David whispered under his breath as the three friends stepped inside the school.

After class, they hurried down the streets of Trollburg, which were busier than usual. People were indeed trying to finish their daily business before sundown, doing groceries and visiting friends before the creatures appeared again. The city was used to such events, but the fact that nobody could identify the threat made everybody more scared. Even the Lighthouse Market was busy: although it was right on the port, people still had things to do, and the sun was not going down for a few hours. There were a few people gathering around the water, where construction workers had spent all day setting somewhat sturdy fences to keep the creatures at bay. Hilda, Frida and David approached, trying to notice anything unusual either on the water or the sand. The blue haired girl frowned. Nothing.  
“Excuse me sir!” She called one of the workers, a skittish little man who kept looking over his shoulders. “Do you know what happened these last few nights?”  
“ People said they heard some weird chants and screeches at night. They thought they were kids or something, but the silhouettes appeared too tall. Wouldn’t leave the water, either. We building fences to keep them away since we have no idea of what they are!”  
His boss called him back and he hurried back to work, leaving the kids with many questions.  
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to ask to the people who live around here.” Frida declared. “Maybe they’ll tell us more than just what we see on TV.”  
Indeed, they tried to ask around, but as the minutes passed, less and less people opened their door. Soon, the market was empty.  
Hilda sighed.  
“I guess I have to go home before sundown, or mum will worry. Wanna try again tomorrow?”  
“No thanks! I’ll pass on this one, the atmosphere here is kinda… creepy.” David said.  
“Guess it’ll only be you and me Frida! See you guys tomorrow!”  
The three kids went on their way, as the sun was about to set. If only they had been a little bit more attentive, they would have noticed a strange woman on a balcony, who had stared at them all along. Now, her eyes rested on the sea.


	2. Chapter 1

On her way to school, Hilda tried recalling everything she knew about the strange events: Screeching, silhouettes on the beach that were coming closer and closer according to the news reporters… Again, the night before, they had come back. A lot of people had heard the noises, but by the time they arrived, the creatures were gone. All anyone was able to witness were the dark silhouettes covered in waters and shadows, which made them impossible to identify. Hilda had watched the news that morning, mentally taking notes so that she could discuss it with Frida and David. Even Alfur was quite puzzled by the events, as he hadn’t heard of anything quite like it before. As she walked, she tried to think of a way to uncover the secrets of those monsters.  
As she arrived on the street of her school, she noticed two girls on the sidewalks that seemed eagerly waiting for her. The smallest one wore a red and blue sweater, her curly black hair tied up in a tight ponytail. The other clashed with her environment: within the bright and orange colored autumn morning, her black outfit, purple hair and cape seemed to be out of place. They were having a conversation: Frida seemed a bit puzzled, but Kaisa, the librarian witch, was almost hysterical. She was moving her hands while talking to the other girl, yet her voice was low. She did not notice as Hilda approached. The witch was explaining, her voice often interrupted by her heavy breath:  
“We need to go… immediately… The witches… It’s going to start a war… Tildy said to hurry!”  
“A war? What is this about?” Hilda said, smiling at Frida before reporting her eyes on Kaisa  
“The committee of three summoned us itself!” Kaisa said, louder than before. She hushed her voice once again. “Listen, Tildy only told me to get you and hurry back! I don’t know much about what is going on either, but she seemed angry and very nervous, which I have never seen before! Now come on!”  
Hilda and Frida exchanged a look, before nodding. Kaisa sighed and started to run, soon to be followed by the two girls.  
As they got towards to the library, Hilda understood how important the situation must have been: Kaisa had managed to convince Frida to skip school. She wondered how she and her friend were gonna explain their absence to their mothers, but she shook her head. It was going to have to wait. There were more pressing matters.  
They followed Kaisa inside the library and into the witch tower. The three of them were out of breath when they reached the committee. While trying to breathe normally, Hilda looked around the room. The three members weren’t standing high on the stones as they would under normal circumstances: they were on the ground floor, with three other witches. Seeing them from the back, she knew those three weren’t simple visitors. The ground was covered by a big puddle of water, in which they stood with their bare feet. The all had long, greenish hair that was tangled with seaweed that spread its smell in the room. Their robes were royal blue, gilded with a gold that shone lightly. The middle one wore a crown made with seashells and a metal unknown to the girl. The blue-haired girl couldn’t see what their faces looked like as they were facing the opposite direction, but she could feel the atmosphere of the room being cold and tense. She could not help but stare.  
The committee of three had never looked so small. The short-haired one was obviously displeased, her eyebrows in a frown and her arms crossed as if she was trying to look intimidating. but the two others were scarred, looking at the group in submission. Tildy was standing a bit farther but was still the first to notice their presence. Unlike she usually would, she did not smile when she announced it.   
“They have arrived.”  
The visitors turned to meet their gaze. To Hilda’s surprised, their three faces were somewhat covered in scaled of a beautiful blue-gray color. They had that “out of this world” look and did not seem to understand what they were looking at. The atmosphere grew even colder and tenser, and Hilda immediately understood that they were some kind of royalty. She watched them, speechless. Their reaction was far from hers.  
“You are going to send children to do your bidding? Are you mad? We’d better finish it off now!” The middle one exclaimed.  
Tildy managed to keep her cool: “They are not mere children. This is a witch and her familiar. They are the best team I could think of given the situation.” She ignored the wrath in the creature’s eyes and approached the girls. “Did you know that magic is separated in different realms?”  
Frida hurried to answer: “Well of course! Although many spells are shared between the realms, some magic is exclusive. We don’t know much about other than our own because they tend to stay apart from each other.”  
“Well done Frida. And do you know anything about the sea witches?”  
“Not much. I think I read about a treaty between us and them, but I can’t really remember.”  
“That is because we don’t want you meddling in underwater affairs.” Thundered the sea witch with the crown.  
“And you in ours.” muttered Tildy. “Since you seem so eager to speak, why don’t you introduce yourself, my dear?”  
She stepped towards the girls and Kaisa had to be strong-willed not to put herself between. To her, the sea witches were a threat, even though she could not tell why. Tildy would not explain.  
“I am Queen Ondine of the Northern seas.” She declared in a tone that indicated that they should have known beforehand.  
Another sea witch came forward. She was slightly smaller than her queen but was almost as intimidating. She stated in a professional voice:” We are not here on vacation, obviously. We came here because your people have stolen something from us.”  
“What did they steal?” cautiously asked Frida.  
“They abducted the shaman.” The queen declared, her voice now low and troubled. “And without her, the world will be at war.”  
Tildy stepped in: “You’ve probably heard about creatures coming from the waters at night, haven’t you girls?” Frida and Hilda nodded. “Those being are the same as the shaman. They sense her presence in the city but they cannot come out into the open. It’s too dangerous.”  
“Wait.” Hilda interrupted. She thought for a moment, before she continued. “I don’t understand. How come these sea witches can come on land but not the ones we hear at night? Wouldn’t it be dangerous for you too…err... your majesty?”  
Queen Ondine seemed to appreciate the mark of respect. For a moment, her face softened, watching Hilda as a mother would look at her child. The blue-haired girl felt strange under her mighty yet kind gaze. The moment was interrupted by the smallest sea witch:  
“What a stupid question. The shaman has never been a sea witch! Well, she is in a way.”  
“As our honored guests explained to us before you arrived, their shamans are some sort of bridge between the sea witches and another kind of sea folks. I’m sure Frida will know what I’m talking about.” Tildy said.  
“Other sea folks? You mean, the shaman is a selkie?”  
“Yes.” Answered the queen. “A selkie that we put under our care to teach the ways of the sea witches, so that both of our kinds can live in harmony. But she had been taken away from us.”  
“Oh, I understand!” Frida exclaimed. “The selkies will be at war with you because you stole one of their own, but the sea witches will be at war with us because a human took her!”  
“Precisely.”  
Tildy looked at her student with pride. Frida had really proven to be an asset to the witches. Now she only hoped that she and Hilda would be up to the task.  
“So find the selkie, in any way you can, before it’s too late. Find her, and we’ll leave you alone. Don’t, and all your people will be punished for the mistake of one. Deal?”  
Queen Ondine extended her hand to the two girls. Hilda turned her eyes to Tildy, who nodded, and shook the cold, wet hand the queen was giving. Despite its texture, it was firm and strong. The handshake of a royal being.


End file.
